Jamshed charged by PCB

The Pakistan Cricket Board has formally charged Nasir Jamshed, the former Pakistan opener, as part of its ongoing investigation into allegations of corruption in the 2017 Pakistan Super League. Jamshed has been charged with two violations of the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code, which deal, essentially, with obstructing and not cooperating with an investigation.

Jamshed, who is presently based in Birmingham, has 14 days to respond to the charges. The former batsman was arrested by England’s National Crime Agency [NCA] in February and is also being investigated by the agency as part of the same case.

Jamshed is alleged to have breached clauses 2.4.6 and 2.4.7 of the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code, for “failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate” with a PCB investigation and “obstructing or delaying any investigation” of the board. Those charges stem from unsuccessful efforts the PCB claims to have made to try and meet or communicate with Jamshed – two officials were in the UK recently but were unable to meet him.

The board believes him to be a central figure in the corruption controversy that occurred during the second edition of the PSL and the possibility of laying further charges, said one official, has not been ruled out. Jamshed was arrested on the same day that he was provisionally suspended by the PCB, and was later released on bail.

At the time, the NCA released a statement which said that the two men were arrested “in connection with bribery offences as part of an ongoing investigation into international cricket match spot-fixing.” The agency also stated it was “working closely” with PCB and ICC anti-corruption units.

Four other players – Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan and Shahzaib Hasan – were also provisionally suspended as part of the investigation. Irfan was later banned from all forms of cricket for one year after he pleaded guilty to failing to report details of two approaches to corrupt the game. Sharjeel, Latif and Shahzaib were charged for alleged breaches of the Anti-Corruption Code. Hasan was charged with breaching three major clauses of the PCB’s anti-corruption code, including allegedly inducing players in corruption indirectly. However, like Sharjeel and Latif, Hasan has contested the charges and the three players will attend hearings before a three-man tribunal constituted by the Pakistan board.

Not that long ago, Jamshed was Pakistan’s first-choice opener in limited-overs cricket, and with three ODI hundreds against India between March 2012 and January 2013, one with a potentially long career ahead of him. Thereafter, however, a dip in form and confidence led to his ouster. Between the end of the India series in January 2013 – a peak in his short career – and the start of the 2015 World Cup, Jamshed scored 458 runs at an average of 19.91 with only two fifties, featuring in 23 of Pakistan’s 50 ODIs in this period. Before this, he had averaged 50.26 in 22 ODIs since his debut, scoring 955 runs, with three centuries and six fifties.

His last appearances for Pakistan was at the World Cup where he only made five runs in three matches. So poor has his form been that he was not picked for either season of the PSL. Jamshed has also played two Tests, both against South Africa in February 2013.